Stock market analyst Ashwani Gujral is of the view that investors can buy Punjab National Bank (PNB) stock to achieve a short term target of Rs 1050.

According to analyst, the investors can buy the stock with a stop loss of Rs 900.

Today, the shares of the bank opened at Rs 988 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 1058.40 and a low of Rs 594.95 on BSE.

Current EPS & P/E ratio stood at 121.27 and 8.20 respectively.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) is eyeing at boosting its global footprint by launching more divisions and representative offices out of the country.

PNB has decided to open its representative office in Sydney and arms in Canada and Norway in 2010-11.

Government-run banking institution plans to strengthen its total business from abroad by six times. PNB has presence in 9 countries, with divisions at Kabul and Dubai, Hong Kong and representative offices in Almaty, Dubai, Shanghai and Oslo.

In the meantime, PNB has no plans to foray into insurance biz.

Previously, the bank signed a JV deal with Vijaya Bank and the US-based Principal Financial, but the joint venture has been a non-starter.

Nagesh Pydah, executive director of Punjab National Bank, stated, "Insurance is a capital intensive business and it takes at least eight years to be profitable. Instead, we would look to increase our fee-based income by distribution of third party products."